ahhhh the dobbs. lou, that is. i'm catching up on relevant cnn punditry from this week (oddly enough being aired on some aoc program) and it seems, and maybe this is just foolish optimism, that even the more mainstream of "news" personalities are beginning to smell the stink.
right now there's some neo-con chucklefucker on c-span beating the drum for war in iran. lick my balls.
in total six retired generals have publicly denounced donald rumsfeld and his competancy as secretary of defense (formerly known as "secretary of war") and his war plan, or lack thereof.
the preznit, months ago, averred that he would find the source of the valerie plame leak (he didn't use the phrase "smoke 'em out," as he did concerning osama bin laden all those years ago, but he wanted to), and scooter libby testifies that the source of the leak was the president himself.
it's no wonder we, the public, are so easily manipulated into focusing our attention on issues like immigration (the public that watches cable news, that is). think about it -- it was the only thing you could read about two weeks ago. and now, where is it? i haven't seen headline one dealing with it in almost a week.
maybe if the mainstream (i don't concede "mainstream,"), or rather CORPORATE, media weren't so willing to carry water for the bushista cosa nostra teabaggers and avoid relevant issues to document tom cruise eating his new baby's placenta, maybe we wouldn't be living in a severely mismanaged america, inc. today.
i incessantly gripe about our system of government. i complain about a myriad of things, but few disconcert me as much as the political state of our country. why is that so? most people, you too -- reading this, could not be more disinterested with politics. i don't blame them; we are brought up by television and hypnotized by the flickering screens of computers, distracted with utterly irrelevant items like who to vote off "american idol" or what to do on the weekend. we have our own lives, and the vast majority of us are probably too busy making ends meet and dealing with our own vices and responsibilities to take notice of what occurs on a grander scale. because the ways in which politics affects us are often so minute, and the changes so gradual, that it slips by unnoticed.
this is why i think the rising gas prices are a good thing. an elevated level of awareness in the populous is almost invaluable.
or how about south dakota banning ALL abortions? no exceptions for rape, incest, or the mother's health. who's to say this doesn't set a precedent for other states to follow suit? i'm in louisiana, so you HAVE to know that our state legislation, and maybe a majority of the state citizenry, aren't averse to like legislation.
i don't mean to be a wonk who only bitches about what i perceive as unjust in government (watch a movie called "naked" by mike leigh -- the guy complains about everything but does nothing in the way of offering solutions). public campaign financing would fix about 95% of the problems we face today. politicians would only have to please their constituents (us) and not the corporations that fund their campaigns, their jobs.
also we need a little bit of anarchy. i'm hesitant to use the word "anarchy" becuase it seems so pejorative at face value. how about, reform? a little revolution? non-violent, of course. our elections have become farses in which we pick the lesser of evils. we need more than a dichotomous party system. i commend ralph nader for dipping his toe into the water of a third party, but i still consider him a douchebag for only doing it once every four years. if he were genuine in his intent to create a third party --- green, independent, whatever -- then he would pursue the notion constantly, not just sporadically every four years. in that sense, he's a phony. i regret voting for him in 2000 (not that my vote matters much in louisiana).
speaking of which, the electoral college needs to be eighty-sixed. it's antiquated and not applicable today as it was a couple centuries ago. presidential candidates campaign only in swing states. it makes me feel un-loved. is it any wonder such a small percentage of americans actually vote?
partisanship: it's turned into sports. people toe the party line regardless of their own personal beliefs or consideration for the good of the country as a whole. party loyalty has superceded national loyalty. i don't believe one side is better than the other -- they both suck taint (with the exception of a few individuals -- russ feingold, lincoln chafee). if you want to know my laundry list of qualms with the republican party just peruse every other post i've ever written. my biggest problem with the democrats is their eager willingness to apologize for their liberal values and capitulate to the more moderate wing of the party (the FUCKING dlc, par example, who submarined paul hackett's senate run in ohio because he was a little too frank, a little too much of an iraq war veteran, and a little too likely to win).
fuck it. vote out every incumbent.
currently listening: zero 7 the garden (2006)
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